Nats take issue with Aust plan

The National Party says the Australian government’s push to make Google share royalties with news publishers is too heavy-handed.

Australia is introducing a landmark law to make Google, Facebook and potentially other tech companies pay media outlets for their news content. But Google has hit back saying it could withdraw the search engine from Australia.

Google’s stance prompted Australia’s Prime Minister Scott Morrison to say the country would not respond to threats.

National’s spokesperson for digital economy and communications Melissa Lee said the Australian model is far too heavyhanded and has chilling connotations as to how other future technological innovations could be affected for the market here.

‘‘We’ve said before the election we are committed to a wideranging review of the media sector in New Zealand which includes content regulation, funding and capacity across all platforms and would not support such a content policy as proposed in Australia without this first taking place.’’

Lee said the media sector innovates and changes and any new law needs to be fair and have buy-in from stakeholders.

Auckland University of Technology computer science professor Dave Parry told RNZ that Google might well follow through with the threats, because barring Australians won’t affect their bottom line too much.

Parry said Google uses a ‘‘parasitic’’ business model where they make money off other people’s content. ‘‘If they are seen as being under threat by having to pay for some of that content which they don’t usually, then I can see [Google] wanting to make an example out of Australia on this.’’

The potential ban would put a ‘‘mark in the ground’’ over how far Google was willing to go to defend its business interests, and the New Zealand Government should take note if it planned to introduce similar laws to Australia’s, he said. – RNZ